1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the processing of plantains, and more specifically, to an improved apparatus and method for slicing and processing plantains in the preparation of a fried sliced food product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known as xe2x80x9cpotatoes of the airxe2x80x9d or simply as xe2x80x9ccooking bananas,xe2x80x9d plantains have been cultivated for thousands of years throughout Southeast Asia and Africa. From tropical Africa, the fruit was taken aboard ships bound for Europe and eventually made its way to the New World with Portuguese and Spanish navigators. Evidence suggests the Spanish introduced plantains to the Island of Hispanola (today the Dominican Republic and Haiti) during the 1500s where the favorable tropical climate nurtured production. Today, plantains are a staple food source in parts of Africa, southern India, and throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America.
The plantain is a member of the banana family. While closely related to the common banana, the edible fruit of the plantain has more starch than the banana and is not eaten raw. Plantains are starchy when ripe and are often used in tropical regions in place of potatoes and squashes. Because the plantain has a maximum of starch before it ripens, it is usually cooked green. It may also be dried for later use in cooking or ground for use as a meal.
Culinary techniques for preparing plantains are long practiced and include roasting, boiling, stewing, mashing, and frying. Recipes for frying sliced plantains abound in recipe books the world over. Typically, plantains are fried while they are unripened and green. The plantains are peeled and cut either into thin slices, or sliced in half and cut lengthwise. An edible oil (e.g., rice oil, hardened palm or coconut oil) is heated in a pan or skillet and the plantain slices are placed therein and fried until golden brown. The plantain slices are thereupon removed from the hot oil and served with a spicy sauce or sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Commercial production of fried sliced plantains, however, gives rise to several inherent problems. Current commercial production techniques still include numerous workers manually slicing plantains by moving plantains over a slicing slit located on a table above a vat of frying oil. While commercial-grade, high volume slicing machines presently exist and are well known in the art, they are not well suited to handling sticky products such as plantains. The sticky makeup or composition of plantains tends to clog the cutting mechanism of current commercial-grade slicing machines. The cutting knife mechanisms utilized in automated commercial-grade slicing machines must be cleaned repeatedly during a production cycle requiring a production line to be shut down frequently. Additionally, the sliced raw plantains tend to stick to one another. Upon being immersed in hot oil, they tend to clump together rather than cook as individual slices thereby causing uneven cooking and unattractive visual presentation.
A variety of proposals have previously been made to address the commercial processing of plantains into a fried sliced foodstuff. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,365 to Numata et al. describes a process wherein banana slices are fried in a reduced pressure environment to reduce the moisture content of the banana slices thereby producing a dried banana product having flavor, a crisp texture and good storage stability. While providing a novel frying process, the Numata et al. ""365 process does not address the previously specified problems inherent with the commercial preparation of raw plantains.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,381 to Bermejo, describes a process for preparing plantains wherein the core of a plantain slice is removed prior to a precooking step whereupon the plantain slice is briefly immersed in hot vegetable oil. The resulting precooked plantain slice is then smashed or flattened by a flattening device 40. The opening formed by removal of the plantain""s core is used to position the plantain slice over a guiding tubular member 50 which is aligned with a cylindrical rod 60 which is centered and attached onto flattening device 40. The resulting product is then frozen. While providing a novel process for precooking and preparing plantain slices, the Bermejo ""381 process does not address the previously specified problems inherent with the commercial preparation of raw plantains.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved and more comprehensive process for the commercial preparation of fried plantain slices. Further, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method for slicing plantains to overcome problems inherent in the constituent make-up of the plantain fruit. A need also exists for an improved apparatus and method which prevents or minimizes the clumping or sticking together of plantain slices prior to their immersion in frying oil.
The present invention overcomes many of the shortcomings inherent in previous methods and systems addressing the commercial production of fried plantain slices. The improved process comprises a fully automated system which includes a sprayer device adapted to continually spray the cutting knife mechanism on a commercial-grade slicing device with a cleansing lubricant thereby keeping the cutting surface clean and free of debris. The improved system also includes a liquid bath stage wherein the freshly sliced plantains are coated and immersed in a liquid medium to prevent the slices from sticking to one another prior to their immersion in the hot oil frying vat.
In one embodiment, the system utilizes an edible oil as both the cleansing spray lubricant and the liquid medium in the liquid bath. The liquid bath tank serves as a reservoir for the cleansing lubricant sprayer device. Upon exiting the sprayer mechanism onto the cutting knife mechanism, the cleansing lubricant is drained into the liquid bath tank where it is subsequently recirculated to the sprayer mechanism via a filtering device.
In another embodiment, the system utilizes water as the cleansing spray lubricant and the liquid medium in the liquid bath. In this embodiment, no filtering device is required as fresh water is constantly used as the cleansing spray lubricant and the resulting waste water is drained away from the cutting and slicing areas. Likewise the liquid bath can be drained and refilled with fresh water as necessary.
In another embodiment, the system utilizes a citric acid solution as the cleansing spray lubricant and water as the liquid medium in the liquid bath. In this embodiment, the citric acid waste water solution is drained away from the cutting and slicing areas and the liquid bath is continually drained and refilled with fresh water, as necessary, to cleanse the sliced plantains of the citric acid solution prior to their immersion in the hot oil frying vat.
Thus, in accordance with one feature of the invention, the cutting blade mechanism of commercial-grade slicing machines are continually cleaned and lubricated.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, individual plantain slices are coated with a lubricant spray further facilitating their free and unobstructed passage through the cutting mechanism and inhibiting their inherent tendency to clump together.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, individual plantain slices are immersed in a liquid bath further inhibiting their inherent tendency to clump or stick together.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the manpower required to commercially produce fried plantain slices is greatly reduced.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the consistency and quality of the finished commercially produced fried plantain product is improved and enhanced.
Thus, the present invention provides an improved and more comprehensive process for the commercial preparation of fried plantain slices. Further, the present invention provides an improved apparatus and method for slicing plantains to overcome problems inherent in the constituent make-up of the plantain fruit. Finally, the present invention provides an improved apparatus and method which prevents or minimizes the clumping or sticking together of plantain slices prior to their immersion in frying oil.